STRATEGIC PLAN

STRIVING FOR EXCELLENCE

A STRATEGIC PLAN THROUGH THE YEAR 2010

for the

JESS and MILDRED FISHER
COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS
TOWSON UNIVERSITY

GOALS AND STRATEGIES FOR 2008 – 2010

The Jess and Mildred Fisher College of Science and Mathematics (FCSM) reaffirms its commitment to be a distinguished, student-centered college of science and mathematics offering outstanding undergraduate and graduate programs of the highest quality to a diverse student population.  For the next two years, the FCSM plans to focus on the following goals and strategies to help it achieve or maintain this level of excellence as it proceeds through the first decade of the 21st century.

Goal 1. Provide a highly effective and supportive environment for learning and scholarly pursuits

Subgoal 1A. Enhance undergraduate programs in the FCSM

1. Actively encourage and increase student participation in undergraduate research and independent projects and seek increased funding to support undergraduate research, particularly through stipends.
2. Enhance faculty development in the use of new technologies in their teaching.
3. Refine and enhance intentional faculty advising and mentoring of students.
4. Develop new highly selective and innovative undergraduate programs or new concentrations within existing programs that would fill an important niche in the State and address future workforce needs.
5. Increase the number of internships taken by FCSM majors during their course of study.
6. Strengthen secondary education programs in the College by pro-active recruitment of secondary education majors and by ensuring that the FCSM curriculum is aligned with national science and mathematics standards.

Subgoal 1B. Enhance the overall teaching effectiveness in the FCSM

1. Provide support for meaningful assessment of teaching and learning.
2. Reduce the reliance on part-time and adjunct faculty.
3. Provide support (with funding as well as in P&T matters) for professional development, the formulation of new strategies for teaching, and for new/revised curricular offerings.
4. Continually monitor, assess, and reform (when necessary) the FCSM portion of the General Education Program to ensure high quality and effectiveness

Subgoal 1C. Enhance graduate programs in the FCSM

1. Develop and support select applied graduate programs or new tracks in existing programs to meet workforce needs in the State.
2. Increase recognition of graduate students (e.g. Best Thesis Award, travel/research grants).
3. Substantially increase the stipend level and number of assistantships to make graduate programs in the FCSM nationally competitive.
4. Encourage departments to develop more effective recruitment techniques to attract greater numbers of high quality applicants.
5. Expand collaborations with institutions that could host and support MS students (e.g. UMBI, FDA).
6. Develop assessment techniques to measure quality of graduate programs.

Subgoal 1D. Enhance research and scholarship among the FCSM faculty

1. Achieve 9/9 teaching loads on a regular basis for all faculty active in scholarship.
2. Create a FCSM Distinguished Lecture Series.
3. Continue to provide FCSM funding to support professional faculty travel.
4. Promote more grant writing/collaborative research among FCSM faculty across departmental lines.
5. Develop community-based research projects involving multiple departments.
6. Encourage the use of sabbaticals to expand the research base of the FCSM.
7. Provide a special one-time-only teaching load reduction in a given semester to support a faculty member with grant writing.

Goal 2. Recruit and retain a diverse and highly qualified permanent faculty and staff of sufficient size to meet programmatic needs

Subgoal 2A. Ensure that faculty and staff salaries and start-up funds remain competitive with those at peer institutions

1. Provide documentation of the contributions of the FCSM and Towson University to the health and economy of the State.
2. Annually collect data from peer institutions and from the CCAS Hiring Survey.
3. Continue to provide (when possible) merit plus base merit to highly meritorious faculty.
4. Continue to advocate for equity adjustments to address salary compression problems when appropriate.

Subgoal 2B. Provide adequate resources for faculty and staff development

1. Continually evaluate departmental needs for faculty, staff, and material resources.
2. Establish more effective mentoring programs to help faculty in writing grants.
3. Encourage interdisciplinary projects that enable faculty and staff to share resources.
4. Increase departmental operating budgets to support the work of the faculty and their students, giving particular emphasis to the start-up needs of junior faculty and the ongoing research needs of tenured faculty.
5. Ensure that faculty and staff have opportunities to attend workshops and conferences that will advance their professional development.
6. Encourage, support, and reward faculty for the development of new instructional delivery systems and new learning approaches.
7. Encourage and support collaborative efforts with industry or other research institutions.

Subgoal 2C. Increase the proportion of women and minority faculty in the FCSM

1. Ensure that all search committee members are familiar with Towson University’s fair hiring practices before a search is initiated.
2. Offer competitive salaries and a welcoming atmosphere for women and minorities.
3. Ensure that the tenure and promotion process does not discriminate against faculty who want to start families.

Subgoal 2D. Increase the number of faculty PINs and, over time, decrease the dependence on part-time faculty

1. Anticipate the staffing challenges posed by enrollment growth and be proactive in meeting them.
2. Develop departmental long-term (> 5 years) faculty hiring plans.

Goal 3. Enhance recruitment and successful graduation of diverse undergraduate and graduate student bodies of high ability

Subgoal 3A. Coordinate and develop departmental programs that focus on recruitment of high quality high school and transfer students both locally and within the Mid-Atlantic region. Set up a mechanism to coordinate existing and future departmental programs at the College level.

1. Secure more scholarship funds through FCSM fundraising efforts.
2. Use our best students as FCSM ambassadors to high schools.

Subgoal 3B. Attract an increasing number of high quality graduate students

1. Encourage an increase in full-time graduate student enrollment by offering a more competitive aid package for graduate students, including health benefits.
2. Provide support for inviting prospective graduate students to campus.
3. Establish competitive College-wide scholarships/fellowships for outstanding current and incoming graduate students.
4. Promote the interdisciplinary nature of graduate programs and research in the FCSM.

Subgoal 3C. Enhance the diversity of the overall student body of the FCSM in terms of both gender and ethnic background

1. Encourage special programs that involve students from community colleges and high schools in research and/or educational activities in the FCSM (e.g., Bridges programs and REUs).
2. Develop and encourage foreign student recruitment and international exchanges in FCSM departments.
3. Work with departments to provide opportunities for establishing learning communities or clubs that are attractive to minority students within the departments.

Goal 4. Improve the FCSM infrastructure and facilities to support the teaching, research, and service missions of the FCSM

Subgoal 4A. Acquire adequate building space and HVAC systems for the FCSM to enable it to successfully carry out its teaching and research missions

1. Establish a comprehensive summary of currently available physical space and how it is used. Review and make reallocations, where appropriate.
2. Ensure that all external funding proposals include adequate consideration and clear identification of physical space needs.
3. Summarize, prioritize and communicate current building/HVAC deficiencies to the Provost and to Physical Facilities.
4. Preserve the space the FCSM already has and lobby to get capital funds for building new space and renovating existing space. Also, lobby for space in other buildings as it becomes available.
5. Develop a long-range space plan for the FCSM that addresses projected needs by the year 2020 and work with the central administration on the implementation of this plan.

Subgoal 4B. Fully incorporate computers and other instructional technology in all aspects of the FCSM’s teaching programs

1. Enhance availability of student computing facilities and continue to have a computer replacement policy that allows for the best equipment to be available to students.
2. By the year 2010, convert all classrooms in the College to “smart classrooms” with multimedia capabilities.
3. Explore the use of new and emerging technologies, including personal response systems (PRS), computer classrooms, smart boards, etc.
4. Seek external funding, especially from private sources, for the acquisition of computers and other instructional technology.

Subgoal 4C. Obtain, upgrade, and maintain basic laboratory equipment and instrumentation that support the core programs in the science disciplines

1. Develop plan to keep major instrumentation current, including instrument depreciation, encouraged use of interdepartmental acquisitions, sharing of departmental/FCSM funds for acquisitions, establishment of targets for both internal and external funding, etc.
2. Work with the Provost’s Office to develop an amortization plan to replace obsolete or worn out laboratory equipment on a regular schedule.
3. Establish additional staff positions (departmental or interdepartmental) to support major instrumentation.
4. Integrate more extensively the use of major instrumentation in undergraduate courses.
5. Promote FCSM and/or University support of software licenses.
6. Seek external funding (with University matching funds) for the purchase of state-of-the-art equipment for instruction and research.

Subgoal 4D. Preserve and enhance the library collections in the sciences and in mathematics

1. Teach students how to search primary literature and databases with the help of the Internet. Appropriate computers, software, access accounts, and search instructions should be available.
2. Retain all memberships in digital libraries and consortia that allow for sharing.
3. Better utilize the on-line library collection.
4. Encourage faculty to donate from their private collections.
5. Encourage departments, in cooperation with the library, to periodically review and assess current collections in their disciplines (including popular science) and work to rectify any crucial unfulfilled needs.

Goal 5. Foster and strengthen mutually beneficial ties with external constituencies

Subgoal 5A. Promote and establish, where appropriate, effective partnerships between the FCSM and Maryland’s business and high technology communities

1. Establish a FCSM seminar series featuring local/regional speakers. Continue to establish and promote contact with FCSM graduates employed locally.
2. Continue to seek input from the FCSM Advisory Board.
3. Offer tailor-made Master’s or certificate programs to industry and school systems in the area.
4. Provide research opportunities for students and faculty with companies or agencies in the local area.

Subgoal 5B. Strengthen the relationships between the FCSM and its alumni

1. Maintain departmental websites for communicating and promoting contact with alumni.
2. Increase the use of FCSM alumni in seminar programs.
3. Establish departmental newsletters to alumni in all FCSM departments.
4. Work with the Division of Institutional Advancement to develop a comprehensive database of FCSM alumni information.
5. Develop a coordinated network of alumni and friends to provide support for the major goals of the College.
6. Include alumni on the FCSM Advisory Board.
7. In coordination with the Division of Institutional Advancement, secure major gifts and donations to the FCSM from corporate sponsors, foundations, prominent alumni, and friends of the FCSM.

Subgoal 5C. Establish and coordinate partnerships with educational, governmental, and professional organizations

1. Select seminar speakers that will support potential partnerships.
2. Increase the number of educational partnerships and collaborative projects with school systems that will contribute to the improvement of K-12 science and mathematics education in Maryland and beyond.
3. Actively pursue research collaborations and partnerships with other institutions of higher education in Maryland and beyond.
4. Establish collaborative relationships with government agencies and laboratories as well as professional organizations.
5. Establish science education and teacher development outreach efforts that utilize strengths of the Towson faculty, students, and programs (e.g., the Towson Tiger Science Bus).

Goal 6. Establish more international exchange opportunities for students and faculty

1. Establish exchange programs for completing undergraduate studies and research overseas.
2. Increase faculty participation in international exchanges.
3. Promote participation in new foreign exchange programs sponsored through external agencies.
4. Establish a FCSM Visiting Scholar Program through University and industrial funding.
5. Promote faculty participation in international conferences.

The Jess and Mildred Fisher
College of Science and Mathematics
Smith Hall, Room 312 (campus map)

Phone: 410-704-2121
Fax: 410-704-2604
E-mail: fcsm@towson.edu